July 27, 2010 > Letter to the editor: Skateboard Park location is wrong

Letter to the editor: Skateboard Park location is wrong

Many Fremont residents are not aware that two million taxpayer dollars are being spent developing a free Skateboard Park to border the new Aqua Adventure Waterpark. This one-acre project is expected to be completed as early as next August. This new permanent skateboard park has now been moved [from its previous location] a mile away from the nearest police station,

Skateboard parks are known for inviting a criminal element. Even the Tony Hawk Foundation which makes money on skateboard sales inadvertently revealed that major crimes are committed in skateboard parks and a majority of police officers reported that once a skate park is built, there was either no difference or that it actually resulted in an overall increase in youth crime in their community.

The City of Fremont can't come up with even one reason why the Waterpark site benefits the activity of skateboarding or one reason why it benefits the residents of Fremont. It is irresponsible for the City of Fremont to allow an unsupervised skateboard park to be located next to the Aqua Adventures Waterpark in a fragile area so distant from a police station, relying only on a superficial passing of patrol cars in what will be a futile attempt to keep crime at bay.

Many residents are very concerned and only see an eventual "lose-lose" in this pending situation from all perspectives. The Waterpark cannot possibly get any benefit from putting the Skateboard Park nearby and the Skateboard Park would be bombarded with endless complaints from all of its neighbors. If the Skateboard Park were to remain near the site that it occupied for years next to the police station (where many if not most of the residents in Fremont believe that it still exists) it could be made a "win-win" (under proper supervision which includes WebCams) by attracting only those who intend to pursue skateboarding activity while discouraging illegal activities.